< Further Explorations | Ex Pulplogs | Talking With Himself >
ST Xar finishes cleaning himself and joins Myrrh, still dripping wet, in the living room of the small apartment where he joins in the peering at the two skeletal corpses. Xar is no more medically inclined then Myrrh and so the two are unable, even with their vast intelligence, to determine why there are three dead bodies on the floor. They can only assume something unpleasant happened.
Myrrh "Maybe it was some sort of gas? It couldn't have been an attack, there are no broken bones.."
ST Xar peers at the two bodies laying side-by-side, sprawled upon the floor of the small first-floor living room. With no wound marks or damage the skeletons can tell him as little as the third skeleton laying upstairs at the edge of the stairwell that brought him down here.
Xar`Rex "Maybe they died when the city fell."
ST Myrrh doubts that very much, considering the age of everything down here. He would wager these people have been dead for centuries, at least.
Myrrh "If they fell there would be blood stains or their bones would be shattered. These people died centuries agin."
Xar`Rex "Why did no one find them when the city was still flying then?"
ST What is troubling about that is if these people have been dead that long why is this home so undisturbed? These tunnels, all of them since they found the Gallery, seem to be part of some vast underground settlement but none of the inhabitants seem to know anything about it. Even Corve admits he has never heard of it.
ST Thus, Xar's question is a very good one. And a troubling one.
Myrrh "That is a good question...Maybe the field that protected it disguises it? or makes people forget? It wouldn't be the first time with first age technology..."
Xar`Rex "I do not know. It seems strange that so many people could live here and not know there were so many dead. I wonder if they are in all the homes... We should look in the windows to see."
Myrrh "Well the place also seems untouched. If the city SANK wouldn't the bodies and items be flung everywhere? Look around you, the place hasn't been touched in generations."
Xar`Rex "Well then they died before it sank. But it still sank."
ST For that matter, why weren't the items in the column gallery scattered around and smashed when the island sank? How did ANY of this survive a fall from the sky?
Xar`Rex "There must be some sort of protection. They must have guessed it would fall some day."
Myrrh "That didn't seem to help the people here."
Xar`Rex "They died long before it fell... look at all this dust?"
Myrrh "Maybe there's some sort of control for all of this..we wouldn't want to turn it off of course. That would flood the place.
Xar`Rex "Yes, that would be a bad idea. Many things would be ruined."
Myrrh "Well let's go look for it then. Maybe we can get those balls to stop trying to kill us."
Xar`Rex "A good idea."
ST Neither of the men hears anything odd as they leave the house by the front door, simply pushing against it results in it swinging soundlessly open and waiting quietly for them to pass before swinging silently shut.
Xar`Rex tries the door after it closes
ST The door does not budge.
Xar`Rex "Hmph."
Xar`Rex moves on.
Xar`Rex looks for something that might be considered a central control, or a more imposing building, or possibly a control panel
ST As far as Xar can see the entire hemispherical chamber is composed of identical housing units like the one they just exited. He judges there must be hundreds of them between the three tiered floors of the place. Aside from the way they entered this chamber there are seven other passages that take them out of it, as well as the massive stone pillar standing in the open center of the hemisphere
ST That pillar looks like some insanely huge version of the carriage tubes Xar was vaguely familiar with from memories of the long-destroyed Dragon-King city of Tikanhautla in the Southern mountains.
ST Myrrh hears something strange from inside the house they just left, a clattering noise that crescendos quietly, then a shuffling sound...and then a soft impact to the door. As he turns to look, he hears it again and sees the door start to open from the inside.
Xar`Rex moves over to the central pillar, tapping on it curiously
ST The vast pillar, some 20 paces in diameter, is made of stone. There are entrances into its interior every 90 degrees. Peering inside one of these entrances reveals a small carriage-cabin that looks fairly familiar. Just a small room with a panel of Old Realm numerals on one side of the door. Obviously this is how one moves from tier to tier.
Xar`Rex enters the cabin
Xar`Rex tries to discern how the controls work!
ST Once Xar steps into the cabin it waits a few seconds before the Old Realm numerals for 1-10 light up on the panel beside the door. There is a soft, friendly-sounding chime that sounds and continues to sound for a few seconds, growing faster. It is probably warning other potential passengers that the carriage is about to depart.
Myrrh scratches his head confusedly and listens to the door they came from. "Xar, do you hear that?"
Xar`Rex "Hear what?"
Xar`Rex "That is the mechanism working, it is about to depart."
ST There is another soft thud to the inside of the door Myrrh is peering at and, again, it opens a little crack further. Xar can not hear the thudding and he doesn't notice the door slowly opening. Myrrh does.
Myrrh "Xar...we need to move. Quickly..."
Myrrh backs away from the door.
Xar`Rex "Well step inside of here, and we will go up."
Myrrh goes with Xar into the chamber.
ST As Myrrh steps into the carriage car the door to the house they had left swings open silently to reveal a shambling mass of bones that has, for the most part, re-assembled itself into a man. Shreds of dark Essence cloak the bones, holding them together and the faint shadowy form of a heavy-set man with an angry, twisted face is visible around the skeleton. It lumbers for those who disturbed it!
Myrrh "Oh dear..."
Xar`Rex looks up and notices the ghosty thing
Xar`Rex "Oh. Well... we are in a shadowland."
ST While not entirely accurate, Xar's statement is close enough. And there does appear to be a very angry Hungry Ghost bearing down upon them while they sit in a carriage cabin that is politely awaiting this new passenger.
Xar`Rex promptly lobs a fireball at the thing, and as it emerges from his maw, it glows black!
ST The dead creature takes the fire full in the chest and face, despite a rather poor attempt to stagger out of the way. It's bony jaws open in an anguished howl as Xar's midnight fire crawls over it, burning away the Essence that holds the thing together, charring the bones to dust. It thrashes about screaming and roaring as it tries to get into the cabin before it expires
Xar`Rex closes the door!
ST Xar tries but he finds no door-close button! Only the numerals!
Myrrh trains his rifle at the creature, just in case...
Myrrh "Hit a button!" Tries to whack the thing with the butt of his rifle.
ST The flaming, dying dead thing does something very odd. It reaches into its burning chest and breaks free a rib. Using the last of its strength it throws the rib at Myrrh!
Myrrh steps a few inches to the side and lets the bone harmlessly pass by him.
ST The bone clatters against the back of the car. Roaring in anger and dying pain the beast claws desperately at Myrrh, trying to pull him from the car!
Xar`Rex pokes buttons frantically!
ST Pressing one of the numerals, the numeral for 6, Xar sets the door to closing. Slowly.
Myrrh "Ah! Get away from me you thing!" My brings the butt of his rifle down on the things skull like a club, hoping to break the thing into pieces or atleast knock it down!
ST Myrrh easily avoids the thing's swiping phalanges but the monster just as easily avoids Myrrh's attempt to attack him! However Xar's burning black flames are doing quite a number on the creature and it looks quite ready to expire at any moment. When finally the doors close they snap the creature in half, leaving Myrrh and Xar inside a small chamber with a ribcage and skull.
ST Soft music plays from somewhere in the cabin.
Xar`Rex blinks down at the bones, nudges them with his toe-claws.
ST The skull roars angrily, but it is already crisping into black ash. The stench is rather horrible.
Xar`Rex "A ghost-that-hungers? So death-rites were not held for these people."
Xar`Rex is not terribly bothered by the stench.
Myrrh "No, I suppose not. The place has been in relative stasis for centuries..."
Xar`Rex says a general prayer for all of the fallen in the city. It may not help, but he feels they deserve it.
ST The creature one the floor yowls one last time before slumping into foul-smelling ash.
Myrrh "I wonder what floor the control room is on..."
ST There is a ding to announce the car has arrived at Floor Six, which Xar pressed. The doors open and both men are presented with a rather interesting view...
ST Instead of more housing units or another gallery of columns or even a vast army of deadly white spheres Xar and Myrrh are looking out across a vast space that must stretch for several miles. Walkways of stone crisscross the space from similar car entrances but, for the most part, they are looking out over a huge basin of stone.
ST No, not a basin. A cavern. An awesomely large cavern. In the depths below their current vantage point, standing inside a car clinging to one of the cavern's walls, they can see almost all the way across. Only a few of the hundreds of buildings below reach this height. Those that do are intersected by stone walkways like the one that leads away from their car.
Xar`Rex "Well, this is pretty."
ST Other buildings are one or two stories, housing units or offices.
ST Some reach nearly to the ceiling of the cavern, huge towers or pyramids, spiral-shaped buildings. An entire underground city. They even see a few hemispherical domes like the one far below them now, apartment complexes.
ST The ceiling of the cavern is painted or treated, possibly enspelled, to show a bright sunny day with drifting clouds. Amongst the buildings of the small but vastly impressive underground city are parks and stands of trees or huge fungal forests that have long-since sprawled over their once carefully tended bounds and begun claiming swathes of the cityscape for themselves.
ST In the entire city there is not one light nor sound nor sign of life. The light comes only from the ceiling's false sunshine and the occasional carriage car tube fastened into the walls of the cavern.
Myrrh "Amazing..."
Myrrh gawks at the size of it all...so complex!
Xar`Rex "I did not know there was so much room inside of the islands."
Xar`Rex "I wonder if there is an underground city in Brume as well..."
Myrrh "Maybe. Maybe not. This must be what the cult was afraid of. Something in here."
Xar`Rex "Perhaps...but what could be so important, even in this First Age city, that it could affect them? And why would they ask for money instead of just bringing the islands down if they fear what is inside/
Myrrh "Well that way they get the money as well as knowing that they have destroyed it...or maybe they needed to stall."
Xar`Rex "Hmmm I suppose you are correct."
Myrrh "Well, I wonder if this level has the control room..."
Xar`Rex "We shall find out!" He looks around for controls!
ST This "level", if it can be called that, is simply the car, a stone walkway, and the building into which the walkway leads through a massive archway. The building itself is a grey stone tower constructed of increasingly slender rounded levels.
Myrrh "Maybe it's further up?"
Xar`Rex shrugs, "We can try." He pokes a higher button
ST The doors shut and the car whisks Myrrh and Xar a level higher. When the doors open they are still looking out over the vast cavern. There is another walkway leading from the car towards another building, a tall and narrow pyramid of black, shiny stone.
Xar`Rex "That looks interesting. Let's go there!"
Myrrh "Do you think it has a door though?"
Xar`Rex walks over to the black thing "Let us find out!
Myrrh follows Xar, maybe this is it. It certainly looked impressive enough.
ST There is, indeed, a door. At the end of the walkway the black pyramid has a triangular door that disappears silently and without any sort of flash when Xar steps close enough. Inside is completely dark, giving no hints as to what is contained.
Xar`Rex blinks, and lights himself on fire.
Myrrh "That might be a bit dangerous Xar...let me."
Myrrh thinks for a moment and then shrugs and heads inside.
ST With the somewhat cheery light of Xar's flames to light the way the two men step inside the glossy black pyramid building. It becomes clear quite quickly that this is not the sought-after control center for the entire city. If such a thing exists, it is not here. What they find, wandering through hallways and peering in the occasional open door, are clean, spotless rooms of black stone.
ST Each room they peer into contains a single bed, also of black stone. Any mattress or linens have long since gone to dust, but the beds are large and may once have been very comfortable. There is a table, a nightstand and dresser, one of those stone bathroom cubes. Everything made of the same glossy black stone.
ST Each bed holds a skeleton.
Xar`Rex "Um. A hotel?"
ST Sometimes there will be a skeleton laying on the floor of a room, or in the corridor. Those most often have a dull silver band around the right arm, maybe the last metallic remnant of some kind of uniform.
ST One of the rooms they look into would seem to disprove Xar's idea. A massive black stone table surrounded by small orbs, fallen to the ground. On the table there is a skeleton and on the ground there are several more.
Xar`Rex crouches down and inspects the silver bands
ST Numerous small, mobile tables are scattered around the room, covered in what even the two laymen can recognized as surgical tools. All the bodies on the floor have at least one silver band around the arm, some have multiple bands.
Myrrh "Hmmm...a hospital. I wonder what those orbs did." Bends over and inspects one.
ST The orb is small, two inches across. It weighs almost nothing and seems undamaged.
Xar`Rex "They could have some use still, if we can figure out how to use them." He picks another one up.
ST Xar ponders for a moment, then feeds the sphere a mote of Essence. As the warm energy flows through his hand and into the tiny sphere it flickers once or twice and then glows steadily and floats into the air above Xar's open hand-paw. The little sphere is glowing enough to illuminate the room.
ST Myrrh doesn't think of it at first, but once he sees what Xar's does, he gets the idea and his sphere too rises above his hand and starts glowing brightly.
Xar`Rex tries to get it to follow him
Myrrh "Must have been lighting for the surgery table?"
ST The ball of light responds easily to Xar's mental commands, even able to perform complex aerial maneuvers if asked. A bit of experimentation shows that he can control the color and intensity of its light and make the small ball hover however he likes or even go through patterns in the air
Xar`Rex "I like it! I will keep it! Let us get one for each of us."
Myrrh "Those could definitely come in handy some day." Takes the remaining orbs and stuffs them into his nearly bulging bags.
Xar`Rex takes some as well, although the one that he considers 'his' just follows him.
Xar`Rex picks up any of the surgical tools that look less familiar than the others, in case Carmine would like them.
Myrrh "I suppose we need to go further up."
Xar`Rex looks around for anything else that looks fun, before leaving
ST Nothing aside from some skeletons!
Xar`Rex takes an armband thing too
Xar`Rex heads back to the 'vator
ST Myrrh reminds Xar that they need to return and find their companions before exploring too much further. If they run into those white balls again there could be trouble. Or trouble could already be finding Carmine and Corve! The two explorers take the carriage tube car back down into the vastly oversized apartment dome and return out to the corridors beyond the Gallery.
ST Of course, there's a minor problem when Myrrh and Xar find Carmine. She's kneeling next to Corve who is slumped against the wall of the corridor. At first it seems he is taking a nap but when Carmine tries to pry the small golden statue of his former incarnation from his hands she is unable to do so. And she when tries to wake him his eyes remain firmly closed and he stirs not an inch.
ST Somehow, Corve has fallen into a deep trance that appears related to the small golden statue.
Xar`Rex frowns at Corve, and pokes at him with a claw to see if that'll wake him up
Carmine looks over him worriedly, eying the statue in a very unfriendly manner before concluding the trace he's in is beyond her at present and settling down to read the sheet music until Myrrh and Xar return. "...Don't do that!"
Myrrh "Uh oh...I knew we shouldn't have grabbed all the things with the black dots..."
Xar`Rex "I want him to wake up."
Carmine "He's not going too. I don't know how to wake him though..."
Xar`Rex "Then I will carry him. We should move on, before more strange things happen."
Myrrh "Maybe he's having more visions of his past self..." Lifts one of Corves eyelids to see if his eyes have rolled back or not.
ST Myrrh is unable to life the eyelid.
Myrrh "Hmmm...that's not good. Well we found something interesting. This place is an entire city."
Carmine "...a whole city?"
Xar`Rex "Yes, the island, it is not all solid. There are many floors of a city in here. And the people, they are all dead."
Myrrh "Yes, underground, full of first age plumbing that still works."
Myrrh "Yes, something killed them all without violence. I could show you some of the bodies but I couldn't make out anything."
Myrrh "No stab marks, no crushed skulls, nothing."
Myrrh "And the entire place is spotless, it didn't get shaken by the fall of the island."
Carmine "...That is ... odd."
Xar`Rex "We found lights." He gives an orb to Carmine. "This one is for you." He makes his bob around Carmine's head
Myrrh "I think the entire place is encased in a field that keeps it stable. The corpses should be dust by now. This place is centuries old."
Carmine "Oh!" she follows it around her head as it bobs. "Thank you!" She smiles up at the big lizard
Xar`Rex smiles back. "I am glad you like it. We got one for Corve too, when he wakes up." he ads.
Carmine "I hope he wakes up soon." She starts to check him over again.
Myrrh "Whatever the cult is afraid of it's here."
Myrrh "This place is immense and full of bodies. We'll need to be careful. We've already had one run in with a hungry ghost."
Carmine smiles at the mention of hungry ghosts
Xar`Rex "I burned him up."
Carmine nods. That was the proper thing to do to them
Xar`Rex rises, slinging Corve easily over his shoulder, making sure not to accidentally put him on any spikes
Myrrh "We should check out the rest of the city, we might be able to turn off these balls and find out what happened to Corve. Assuming he doesn't snap out of his flashback by then."
Carmine nods, standing and checking corve over nervously once more
ST Corve is bumping along on Xar's back, still oblivious to the outside world. He's drooling a bit.
Xar`Rex eyes the drool with distaste
Xar`Rex "Your mate is drooling on me."
Carmine looks at corve with concern, carefully wiping his mouth.
Xar`Rex "Thank you." he heads on to the interesting bits up ahead
Myrrh "Well atleast he isn't thrashing, that would make things more difficult."
Carmine gives Myrrh an angry glance, then looks back to corve.
Xar`Rex chuckles. "Not much."
Myrrh "You know, if we can get the island floating again we could open this place up after we made sure it's safe. It would certainly help aleviate space problems. Of course we'd have to search it all carefuly, can't have someone wandering onto a daiklave or some such."
Carmine "Do all the islands have crypt systems like this?"
Myrrh "I'm not entirely sure. We would have to check. Imagine, hidden cities buried deep under Brume and nobody knows about them..."
Myrrh "And they're all full of first age artifacts.":
Xar`Rex "I think we should look for them. That could be both a danger and a blessing"
ST The first step on the journey to where Carmine can see the sprawling cave-city is the hemispherical apartment complex where Xar and Myrrh were attacked by the Hungry Ghost. The vast chamber full of its 99 apartments is still empty, still silent and all the doors are still closed. It looks like the ghost they dealt with did not awaken any others.
Myrrh "Brume could become the next Lookshy. Onlywithout the many outcastes I suppose...I wonder how they can maintain all of their equipment."
Carmine "..."
Myrrh "I mean look at this place. It still functions without anyone to tend to it for centuries."
Myrrh "I'm sorry Carmine did you say something?" Seems to not have noticed he was rambling on.
Carmine blinks a few times.
Xar`Rex looks at Carmine. "Are you alright?"
Carmine pauses then nods. "I've just ... never seen anything like this.."
Myrrh "Yes it is a sight. Amazing how much the world has lost. I can scarcely imagine what else the Deliberative made in the first age."?
Xar`Rex "It is very large. I did not imagine so much could be here, lost."
Carmine nods
Myrrh "We should take her to see some of the bones, maybe she can learn something we didn't see."
Xar`Rex "Yes, up to the open window."
Xar`Rex takes them up to the open window house, and sets Corve down, then sort of melts, in a rather disturbing fashion, and squishes through the window, reforming on the other side.
Carmine watches Xar, fascinated
Xar`Rex sticks his hand through the window, to help the others through
Carmine climbs through
Myrrh climbs through the window. "I think i'm going to wash my hands. This place is dusty."
ST While Myrrh washes his hand, Xar leads Carmine downstairs to the living area where two skeletons lay sprawled on the ground side-by-side.
Carmine kneels by the bodies, trying to work out what killed them
Carmine "...Plague." She says quietly. "These people died in a horrific plague."
Xar`Rex edges away
Myrrh "Ah, the contagion..."
Carmine "...the contagion?"
Xar`Rex "It is not still here is it?"
Myrrh "The Great Contagion. Killed billions. It collapsed everything and let the fairfolk flood in. It was what lead the Dynasty."
Myrrh "If it was we would probably be on the floor leaking fluids."
Carmine "...Oh. That doesn't sound good at all. But no, I think it has died since then..."
Myrrh "Well that would be one reason why nobody would come here...too afraid of the contagion."
Carmine nods. "If it was as bad as you say..."
Xar`Rex "Well, what are we looking for now?"
Myrrh "A way to control the spheres. And maybe find out if there was a store of artifacts or something very visible that the cult would want destroyed. It might not have all been in the musem."
Carmine "We should go then..."
Xar`Rex "Then we had better get moving." He slithers back out of the window, and heads onward and upward!
Myrrh follows the others and heads for the wonderful elevator!
ST Upon testing the elevator's buttons for 8, 9 and 10 Xar discovers that these buttons take them into the ceiling of the cavern where they find only more elevator shafts to take them to other locations in the underground city.
Carmine presses a button at random
ST In fact, the only useful thing they find on levels 8-10 is on the 10th level where a vast network of such cars apparently converge. There a dais of milky white crystal stands, apparently, empty, in the middle of a room. It is on this dais that Carmine presses a random button.
ST The result is a handsome human male appearing from nothing. Of average height and build, well dressed in the fashions of the late First Age, the man smiles at the three visitors. "How may I assist you?"
Carmine blinks as he appears and talks to her in a strange tongue.
Helpful Man is speaking Old Realm with a brumish accent
Xar`Rex blinks. "It is like the recording crystals of my people."
Helpful Man "Do you need direction?"
Myrrh "Er...yes, would you direct us to the control room for the sphere guardians?"
Helpful Man "I'm afraid I don't know that place. Is there someone else you'd like to go?"
Myrrh "Is there a central control area? Someplace where everything is run from?"
Carmine "What's he saying?" She asks of Xar in firetongue
Xar`Rex "Oh, she asks if we want directions, but does not know where the sphere guardians are controlled from"
Helpful Man "I can direct you to the Palace of Justice or the Hall of the City if those would help."
Carmine "Ohh,"
Myrrh "Those would both be very helpful, thank you!"
Helpful Man disappears and is replaced by a map of the city, on which the location of the Palace of Justice and the Hall of the City are both highlighted in glowing gold. Instructions in Old Realm form in glowing hieroglyphs, directing them to a specific carriage car tunnel and take it to level 1, then follow the street until it comes to the first park
Helpful Man At the park, they are to turn left and continue walking until they reach the Hall of the City. The Palace of Justice can be easily located from there and there is another dais noted as being near the Hall of the City.
Myrrh "Well I think we've got directions!"
Xar`Rex "let's go then!" He does so.
Carmine follows Xar, checking on Corve again.
Helpful Man Reaching the first level through the carriage car is relatively simple. There is a minor problem when they step out of the car, however. The park has come to meet them. Xar, Myrrh and Carmine are staring at a carpet of springy green-blue moss that extends right up to the car's doors. Small mushrooms as wide as Xar's hand-paw glow softly.
Xar`Rex "...These were not here before."
Helpful Man There are even small moving...things running about. Further from the car the forest is even thicker, vast trees and huge fungal formations. Shelf fungi clinging to buildings many floors tall are near the size of horses, were horses mostly flat.
Myrrh "Well I suppose they haven't had anyone to tend to them in the centuries. Still, you would have thought they would have died off due to lack of sun or water."
Helpful Man The roadway is completely obscured by the mossy covering.
Small Critter scurries over and moves in circles around Carmine. Appears to be no more then a lump of moss, shaggy and gnarled coverings in shades of red, green and violet cover the body so completely that it is impossible to determine what lives under there.
Small Critter makes small snuffling noises at Carmine as it circles her.
Carmine bends down to look at it.
Xar`Rex eyes the critter as it circles Carmine balefully
Carmine "...What is it?" she asks, peering around it.
Small Critter offers no clue as to its nature, simply making more snuffling noises.
Myrrh "Some sort of magicly evolved fungi creature?"
Myrrh offers a hand out to the fungus creature.
Carmine touches it, but gently
Small Critter shuffles its way over to Myrrh and makes noises at the hand. Flinches at the contact of Carmine's hand, but makes no move to bite her or flee. After figuring out that Carmine means no harm the small multi-colored critter begins making cooing noises.
Xar`Rex looks around at the vegetation, sniffing to see if any of it smells tasty. His stomach rumbles.
Carmine "It's so ... odd."
Small Critter extends part of its matted covering towards Myrrh, touching his outstretched hands with its own pseudopods. The contact feels cool, springy. In short order the cooing creature has shifted its mass into Myrrh's hand, where is contracts itself into a fist-sized lump.
Carmine "...Very. very odd."
Myrrh "Hmmm. Cute little thing. If a little bad for allergies..."
Small Critter Xar, sniffing around, decides that the softly-glowing mushrooms are probably the least likely to poison him. Their colors are muted greens and blues, unlikely to be a warning to predators. And they smell just fine.
Xar`Rex plucks one and munches on it thoughtfully
Small Critter schlumps its way up Myrrh's hand and under his sleeve, moving up his arm.
Small Critter is making the same snuffling sounds it make as it circled Carmine, a curious sort of noise for whatever sort of being it is. Possibly it is smelling him.
Xar`Rex decides it tastes rather good, and gathers up a bunch of them, for a salad later.
Myrrh "Maybe we can market the little fellows back in brume. They do seem a little curious."
Carmine watches the progress of the bump under Myrrh's shirt
Small Critter makes a funny tickling sensation as it reaches Myrrh's chest, where it stops and spreads out, clinging to the skin.
Myrrh "...what is it with us and plants?" Unbuttons his shirt to take a look at the strange little thing now...
Carmine studies it too, pokeing at it softly
Small Critter is eating the green-blue dots that were left on Myrrh's chest after his brush with the man-eating plant spores in the yabyab giants' village. It seems quite content.
Xar`Rex "Would you like a mushroom?" he offers to the other two. "They are quite tasty."
Carmine takes the mushroom with a smile and eats it.
Myrrh takes one and eats it, although he leaves the stem for a later experiment on what the creature will eat...assuming he can get it off him.
Small Critter The mushroom tastes vaguely meaty, but also like a walnut. Odd.
Carmine frowns as she eats it, but then smiles. "They are nice."
Xar`Rex picks some more, pleased.
Xar`Rex "This is nice. But still, strange that it was not here before."
Myrrh "Maybe the forests and parks are also strangely effected by the passage of time...or they were made this way? This little creature might be a cleaning system of sorts."
Small Critter continues to snuffle happily, attached to Myrrh.
Xar`Rex "I suppose, it could just have grown. But there is no sunlight."
Small Critter seems to be doing quite well in the false sunshine from the enchanted cave ceiling.
Xar`Rex gathers up some moss as they move along, and soon he has enough for a lovely salad for all three of them! and Corve if he wakes up.
Myrrh tries to tempt Snuffles off with a mushroom stem as he tries to follow the directions from the essence assistance system.
Carmine follows along beside Xar
Small Critter absorbs the Mushroom, extending multiple psuedopods to grasp it, then extending its body to encompass the mushroom. The formerly-glowing mushroom becomes a lump in "Snuffles's" body.
Xar`Rex looks to see if there are any more small critters, because they look awfully tasty too
Small Critter has several brothers, sisters and cousins scurrying around the mossy ground
Xar`Rex picks one up, glances sidelong at Myrrh, and munches on it surreptitiously
Small Critter squeals and makes pityable snuffling noises as Xar tries to eat it! Despite all the protesting and squealing, the small mossy being tastes pleasantly fruity, with a hint of mold.
Xar`Rex belches quietly.
Snuffles seems unaware that Xar is devouring one of his kind, happily nestled against Myrrh and munching on both the mushroom and the fungus that has been infesting Myrrh's skin
Xar`Rex heads onward to the place they're going!
Myrrh gives Xar a disgusted look and then shrugs and follows. Hopefuly these things breed...otherwise they might have lost a vital chance to bring back the botanical wonders of the first age due to a hungry lizard!
ST As Myrrh, Xar and Carmine...along with "Snuffles" make their way along the streets as best they can, trying to make the proper turns despite their total inability to see anything under the matts of moss and the verdant growth of plants. When a large stone edifice, now colored green due to tiny patches of green mold latching into the stone, rises ahead of them they are fairly sure they've found the Hall of the City
Carmine "Is that where we're headed?"
ST It is Xar, in his browsing for things to eat amongst the veils and layers of fungus, vines and trees, who discovers the body. Another set of skeletal remains, slumped against the wall of a building long-since collapsed by the action of tree roots and erosive fungi. Around and inside, especially inside, an exotic black flower blooms. The perfume entices Xar.
Myrrh looks around and tries to brush Snuffles off of his chest, holding a hand out for the creature to get off.
ST The small mossy creature is easily persuaded to leave its perch on Myrrh's chest, leaving behind unblemished skin completely free of plant-spores. "Snuffles" contracts himself back into a small mossy lump and remains in Myrrh's hand.
Myrrh sets Snuffles down back into the forest where he can go frolick and play with the other fungus cleaners.
ST The creature refuses to leave Myrrh, crawling back onto the Twilight's boot as soon as Myrrh sets him down.
Myrrh glances down and picks the small creature up, he strokes it for a moment and then focuses his essence into the creature. It's small, easily over looked and rather speedy. It could come in handy as a bonded companion! And it probably wouldn't be as lippy as Xar!
ST Snuffles is flexing and expanding as Myrrh feeds him Essence and the mossy creature's faint, foggy mind clears and fills with devotion toward Myrrh. The little lump of moss makes happy snuffling noises as it eagerly consumes the Essence, finally growing to about the size of a watermelon. It peers up at Myrrh, happy and loyal. Faintly, Myrrh can sense its simple thoughts of love.
ST Meanwhile, at the dead body, Xar's nostrils are flooded by a sudden burst of pollen released as one of the midnight black flowers suddenly bursts from bud into full bloom. The violet-blue-black pollen is drawn deep into Xar's lungs as he sniffs at the flower. How pretty they are with their velvety blackness, shining with all sorts of hidden colors...
Xar`Rex "Oooh pretty flo...wer..."
ST The sweet, faintly musky perfume of the black flowers fills Xar's mind, washing away other thoughts. He stands, breathing deep of the black plant that grows inside the human corpse.
Myrrh bends over and pats it on its...head. He then glances over at Xar. "Find something interesting?"
Carmine "...Myrrh?"
Carmine "... ... Xar?"
Myrrh "Hmm? Oh! Well...he just looked so lonely is all. That and he could come in handy! He eats plans, shape shifts...What's wrong with Xar?" Glances over, holding Snuffles in his arms like an overgrown tabby.
ST Xar can't quite hear Carmine and Myrrh. The smell of the flowers is distracting him. But it doesn't matter. Nothing is wrong. Everything is fine.
Xar`Rex smiles, and sits down near the flower, the better to smell its lovely lovely scent. He plucks it, and tucks it into his armor
ST Xar does feel awfully tired though. Yes. Sleepy. The pollen smells so good, why not take a nap here? Just for a few minutes, to enjoy the smell.
Carmine "Xar!"
Carmine starts to look around for him
ST Carmine must be happy too, she's calling his name. Yes, she smells the wonderful scent too. She's happy that he is happy. She will be happy with him together! After his nap.
Myrrh "Xar? Where did you go!"
ST Oh, is that Myrrh? He'd love this smell. It would fascinate him. Maybe he can tell Xar why the plant smells so good. That would be nice. Mmmm...Xar is feeling even more lethargic.
Xar`Rex curls up near the dead body, fluffing his wings around him, and blinking sleepily. "I'm over here. Come...smell this flower... it's very nice."
Carmine hurries over
ST It is Snuffles, not Carmine or Myrrh, that finds Xar. Growing more and more agitated, Snuffles manages to get Myrrh to follow him until the watermelon-sized moss ball arrives at Xar and the dead body. Snuffles' whole form quivers and he makes hissing noises at the black plant which grows within the skeleton Xar is laying next to
Myrrh "What did you find boy? Oh! There's Xar!" Glances at the flower, wondering what it is that has caused such a stir.
Xar`Rex snores gently
Carmine "Xar ... Corve...!" She hurries to the big lizard's side, checking him over
ST While Myrrh has never seen a plant such as this before, it resembles a rose to some degree with thick, thorn-covered stalks and velvety petals. The thick, sweet scent coming from it and the inky midnight black color of its petals however, are something new, as is the way it's twined about the skeletal remains.
Myrrh "Hmm...that smells good."
ST Carmine's head goes woozy for a few moments, but she shakes if off firmly. The scent is pleasing to Myrrh, but it fails to make him even a bit drowsy. His mind is truly stronger then his nose. Snuffles, now on the ground at Myrrh's feet, is vibrating with hate and rage directed towards the black flower.
Snuffles hurtles across the ground, as fast-moving a lump of Moss as Myrrh's ever seen. A mass of writhing mossen tentacles explode from Snuffles and start pulling the black plant to shreds.
Carmine looks surprised at the moss as she checks Xar over, and corve too
Snuffles It's hard to tell if Corve has been affected, he was already asleep. But even as Snuffles tears into the plant, Xar remains fast asleep. Only when she tries to lift one of his heavy limbs does Carmine notice that one of the black flower's thorny roots has wrapped itself firmly around Xar's wrist and its thorns have penetrated his skin, drawing blood.
Carmine carefully pulls the vine off.
Snuffles hisses and vibrates angrily as he continues to attack the black flower, lashing it with mossy pseudopods.
Xar`Rex dreams of flower petals falling from the ceiling
Myrrh "I've never seen the like of it before...Although I wager it makes the vitcim sleep and then grows from his...body." Tries dragging the heavy Xar away from the plans.
Carmine unravels the vine faster.
Snuffles Myrrh may not be as strong as Xar or Carmine, but his Exalted muscles are strong enough to drag the slumbering hulk of the Dragon-King away from the plant as Snuffles attacks it and Carmine removes its thorns from Xar's wrist. Even with them gone and the plant destroyed by Snuffles, Xar remains asleep...
ST Carmine finds a single velvety black blossom of the plant lodged in Xar's armor. The smell comes strongly from it and she can literally see streams of violet-black pollen being drawn into Xar's mouth and nose.
Xar`Rex makes a furrow in the ground as he is dragged
Carmine picks the flower up and throws it to snuffles, who promptly eats it.
ST Snuffles is completing the destruction of the black blooms by absorbing them just as he did the glowing mushroom Myrrh offered him earlier. Finishing he trundles back over to Myrrh and rubs himself against his master's booted feet.
Myrrh having pulled Xar clear he sits down and wipes his brow. "I wish he would not turn to stone when he's sleeping..." He pats Snuffles rewardingly on the top of his fungus head.
Carmine checks him over once more, trying to awaken him
Snuffles chirps and cooes, wrapping itself around Myrrh's leg.
ST Despite Carmine's best efforts Xar seems to be as deeply unreachable as Corve, his stone form not responding at all to her attempts to wake him. She examines the holes in his wrist and suspects that the plant was able to administer some potent drug in this way.
Myrrh scratches Snuffles on his "top" as it were. "Good boy! Be sure to let us know where any more of those nasty flowers are!"
Snuffles spirals away from them in a searching pattern to make sure there are no other nasty things that would harm his master!
Carmine "..You'll have to carry Corve." Carmine says, as she hefts Xar
ST Snuffles' search turns up no more of the black flowers in the area, but he does bring Myrrh back a plump, juicy apple.
Snuffles extends the apple up on his pseudopods towards Myrrh, making a hopeful purring noise
Myrrh takes the apple and rubs it on his coat. "Thanks Snuffles!" He sniffs it and then takes a bite!
ST The apple is very tasty, fresh-picked! By a fungus-monster.
Snuffles flails his pseudopods in what Myrrh and Carmine may or may not recognize as a happy dance.
ST Carmine has some trouble arranging the slumbering Dragon-King but actually dealing with his weight is not a problem for the amazingly strong Dawn warrior-woman. She makes sure that Corve is fine, slung over Myrrh's shoulder. He is, but still this feels very bad to both Carmine and Myrrh. Since entering this place they have lost two of their four to mysterious trances that don't seem to end.
ST Sure, they've added a fifth, the small-but-courageous Snuffles, but still, the two Solars are worried about their friends and if this place might not be more dangerous then they originally thought..
Carmine carries on her walk towards the building, carrying a stone lizard twice her size over her shoulders
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